The head of the catholic church, Pope Francis has condemned the recent spate of killings and kidnappings in Nigeria while also calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to do everything within his power to guarantee the safety of all Nigerian citizens.
Francis expressed his solidarity with Nigerians after 34 people were killed by bandits in villages in the north-western state of Kaduna earlier in the week.
Speaking on Wednesday to a General Audience at the Vatican City, Pope Francis said ‘I pray for those who have died, for the injured, and for the entire Nigerian population’.
The Pope while describing the attacks as ‘senseless’ also noted that massacres were not only happening in southern Kaduna but all over the country.
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‘I learnt with pain the news of the armed attacks that took place last Sunday against the villages of Madamai Abun in northern Nigeria…I hope that the country always guarantees the safety of all its citizens,’ he said.
Nigeria is in the grip of insecurity across parts of the country with an increase in kidnappings for ransom and continued attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
The Pope’s comments came as a prominent Nigerian doctor was ambushed and assassinated in the southeast of the country in Anambra State on Tuesday.
Chike Akunliyi was the husband of Dora Akunliyi, a former civil servant and head of the country’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Meanwhile, President Buhari has promised to bring his killers to justice.
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that in September, the Nigerian military began an anti-bandit campaign in the Zamfara State and some northern states have imposed restrictions on movement and trade and also carried out a telecoms blackout to try to control the gunmen.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
